


Flames of the Past: Rekindled

by Xelda



Series: Sonic Xelda Continuity [3]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Minor Violence, Pre-Sonic Forces, Sonic 2006, Time Travel, Unofficial Sequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:54:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29767527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xelda/pseuds/Xelda
Summary: Blaze has been having strange dreams, of a city bathed in fire, and a mysterious person who feels familiar, but who she can't quite recall. As she awakes from one such dreams, she finds her city under attack by robots.Meanwhile, in Sonic's dimension, Dr. Eggman is after a certain Soleannan Princess, for reasons unknown, and Silver embarks on yet another visit to the past in the hopes of saving his devestated future, this time with help from an unlikely source.
Series: Sonic Xelda Continuity [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2200998
Kudos: 3





	1. Sol Dimension

**Author's Note:**

> A while ago, I wrote a story called Flames of the Past, which was a story I wrote to bring some sort of resolution to Silver and Blaze's seperation in Sonic '06. It was set in the Two Worlds setting of Sonic Forces and was only one chapter long, and since then I've had a desire to rewrite it in the One World setting, and to flesh it out far more. As such, this story will be very different to the original Flames of the Past, and hopefully far better as a result XD

Blaze woke up in a dark, unfamiliar room. Walls made of concrete, glowing red all around her. Instead of a bed, she appeared to have been sleeping on the hard stone floor, only a thin blanket covering her body, yet she didn’t feel cold at all. “Where am I?” she pondered, her voice echoing in the empty room.

She climbed to her feet and walked towards the nearby doorway. It took more steps than she thought it would to reach; the doorway itself seemed to be moving away as she walked. When she finally reached it, she looked outside and was shocked to see an entire city bathed in fire.

Buildings reached up to the black skies, some toppled, some half-destroyed, others completely on fire and falling apart. The ground was cracked and uneven, and before her stretched an ocean of magma as far as the eye could see. People ran around, screaming and shoving, though she couldn’t make out any distinctive details about them, such as faces or attire. They were just grey, generic blobs, vaguely in the shapes of various species.

“Blaze!” a voice called out to her. She couldn’t tell what kind of voice – it was a mix between a gruff, masculine voice and a high-pitched feminine one. It almost sounded like several voices overlapping. The source of the voice was another blob, though this one was somewhat more detailed. She could tell that this was not human, at least. It seemed to have spines, and she could _almost_ see a face, but for the life of her couldn’t place it. She couldn’t even tell the gender. There were rings on his or her wrists, and he or she appeared to be about as tall as Blaze herself.

“______, what’s happening?” she asked.

“We have to go! It’s _____! He’s here!”

“We have to get these peop- -fety!”

The ground trembled, and lava shot out all around them. The screaming stopped, she realised. The buildings around them began to shrink, and the black sky began to turn white.

“This- -ur chance! We can stop it- -nd now!”

“You know we can’t! It’ll just regen- -just like last ti-”

The buildings were now completely gone. The two were left standing on the only piece of ground left in this world.

“We have to try!”

“… ______, our priority should be the- -after they’re safe, we can-” The blob appeared to be annoyed. No, frustrated? She chuckled. “You have the right intentions. But it’s the wrong time.” An explosion roared inside her head, and the blob took off into the void, vanishing before her eyes. “______!”

* * *

Blaze bolted up in her bed, staring straight ahead. She was back in her room, in her palace, and in her empire. She sighed, wiping the sweat from her brow. “I dreamed of that place again? Why do I keep seeing these visions? What do they mean?”

Climbing out of bed, Blaze opened the door to her balcony and stepped outside, the cool breeze making her feel better instantly. Looking up at the position of the moon, she estimated that it was still early, but she didn’t feel all that tired. “I wonder who that was? Is it somebody important to me? They’re the one person I ever talk to in those dreams, but I can never hear their name.”

“Hoo.”

Blaze glanced over to an owl, perched on a nearby tree, staring directly at her. “The person in my dreams.”

“Hoo.”

Blaze smiled. “I’m telling you, that’s what I want to know.” The owl spread its wings, flying away into the night. Blaze chuckled softly. “Guess he didn’t like that one.” Sighing, Blaze rested her head on her arms. “It sure would just be nice to have _somebody_ to talk to about all this. My attendants have enough to worry about without thinking something’s wrong with me, and I don’t think Marine will have much to offer in the way of advice.” After a few seconds of silent contemplation, Blaze got up and turned to re-enter her room. It was still early, and she would need her rest for the day’s events.

As she reached out to close the door, a scream echoed through the night. Blaze rushed outside, looking for the source of it. There, she saw a couple of koalas running from black-and-white robots. The robots were humanoid in shape and hovered just over the ground as they gave chase.

“Help us!”

“S-Somebody, help!”

Blaze jumped off of the balcony, using her flames to propel herself down to the streets. She used her flames to burn up the robots, and the couple being chased stopped to thank her, breathing heavily. “T-Thank you! You saved us! … Oh! H-Highness! Please forgive us, we didn’t realise-”

“Forget about that,” Blaze said. She noticed more of the robots approaching and used her flames to destroy them. “Where did these things come from?!”

“We don’t know. We were just walking through the streets and they appeared out of nowhere.”

“Well, get inside for now! I’ll handle it from here!”

The couple retreated into a nearby building, and Blaze rushed through the streets, finding more of the aggressive robots along the way. Some were trying to break into peoples’ homes, whilst others took notice of Blaze and began firing at her as she approached.

Blaze dispatched them all with ease, but they simply kept coming. Eventually the Royal Guard showed up, and she issued orders to evacuate the citizens to the palace. She provided cover as the soldiers got to work rounding up citizens and escorting them to safety, creating walls of fire behind them to cut off paths for the invaders to take.

A scream pierced through the night, and Blaze flew through the air to a large park, where several of the robots were approaching a group of teenaged cats. She threw flames at the robots from behind, destroying them as she landed before the frightened teens. “Don’t worry. You’re safe now.”

“Your Highness!” one of the cats gasped, and the group quickly bowed.

“No time for that. Get to the palace, quickly!”

“R-Right away, Your Highness!”

Blaze watched them leave, and then heard the sounds of jets behind her. Gritting her teeth, she turned to find more robots flying her way.

“I don’t know who or what you are, but you’re gonna regret attacking my people!” Blaze charged up a powerful attack, launching it as the robots unleased a storm of bullets her way. She created a shield of flames that deflected the bullets, whilst her own attack enveloped the robots and sent them flying.

“G-GET AWAY FROM ME!”

Blaze ran on ahead, towards the sound of the new voice. As she entered the streets, she was shocked to find Eggman Nega running from a trio of robots. One of the robots raised its gun and prepared to fire, but Blaze reached it before it could and delivered a swift kick to its chest. The robots fell to the ground, and the other two turned to face her.

Dodging their attacks, Blaze made quick work of the remaining robots. After she was done, she found Nega staring at her, his breathing ragged as he rested against a lamppost. “Talk, now,” she said, glaring at the scientist as flames enveloped her hands. “What’s going on here?”

“That’s what _I’d_ like to know.”

“These robots have your stench all over them.”

“How dare you?! I was just _attacked_ by those thing!” Nega shouted indignantly.

“How do I know that wasn’t just an act? I wouldn’t put it past you.”

“Believe what you want to, but those robots were sent by the _other_ me, the one in Sonic’s dimension! They showed up out of nowhere and wrecked my base!”

“The other Eggman?”

In the distance, more screams could be heard. “Look, let’s call a truce for now, okay? These things are threats to _both_ of us!”

Blaze gritted her teeth, simply glaring at Nega as she tried to discern whether what he said held any modicum of truth. More screams filled the air, from multiple directions, and she sighed, extinguishing her flames. “Let’s say that I trust you. What do you propose we do?”

Nega grinned. “We have to stop my ancestor, and find out _how_ he’s sending his robots here in the first place! I can stay and watch over things here.”

Blaze cupped her chin and she thought. “To get to Sonic’s world, I need to use the Sol Emeralds… Well, isn’t that convenient for you?”

Nega groaned. “Look, I’m not after the Sol Emeralds… right now. I’m on the level here! I’m even offering to protect your home for you so you don’t have to worry!”

“What? You think leaving you here, unchecked, would mean I don’t have to worry?! No, I don’t think so,” she said. “There’s no way I’m leaving you here while I go off to Sonic’s dimension on my own! You’re coming with me, and if I see you even so much as _glance_ at the Sol Emeralds…” Blaze ignited her flames for emphasis, an act which caused Nega to break into a nervous sweat.

Grumbling, the Doctor said, “Fine. Then, how about I loan you some of my weapons, so your people can actually defend themselves while we’re gone? That way, you might be convinced that I’m not trying to trick you this time.”

“It’ll help, but I still won’t be fully convinced.”

“By the way, you’re not going like _that_ , are you?”

“What?” Blaze looked down over her body, and finally realised that she was still wearing her nightgown. Turning redder than her Burning form, she turned around quickly and covered her front. “J-Just go get the weapons! I need to finish making sure my people are alright. Meet back here in thirty minutes!”

“Of course, _Your Highness_.” Nega grabbed one of the robot’s guns and took off, leaving Blaze alone in the street. “… This had all better be worth it,” he grumbled as he rounded a corner.

Blaze heard more screaming and ran towards it. ‘ _I don’t know what he’s planning, but if there’s any chance he’s telling the truth, then I need to verify what he’s saying. But I can’t just leave him here, that’s for sure._ ’

* * *

Thirty minutes later, the two met back up in the park. The evacuation had been completed and the robots halted at the palace gates. After changing into some attire more appropriate for battle, Blaze explained the situation to her advisors, and arranged for a small group of soldiers to see her off, in case Nega decided to pull some sudden stunt.

All eyes were fixed firmly on Eggman Nega as he arrived. He began distributing weapons that he had recovered from one of his hidden bases, and explained to the soldiers how to use them. He also had shield generators and EMPs that would help in defending against a larger attack force.

“Remember, protect the people at all costs,” Blaze said to the commanding officer, who saluted in response. “And be careful. I don’t trust _anything_ he gives us.”

“We have our own engineers on standby to inspect the equipment, Your Highness,” the soldier said. “If there’s any trap ready to be sprung, they’ll find it.”

Blaze nodded, and then approached Nega, presenting him with a pair of handcuffs. “While I use the Sol Emeralds, I want your hands secured.”

“So untrusting…” Nega complied, and Blaze took out the Sol Emeralds.

“Your Highness, please hurry back!” her commanding officer said, as he and his platoon saluted her departure.

Turning to them with a smile, Blaze simply replied, “Don’t worry. I’ll be back before you know it.” And with that, she and Eggman Nega were gone.


	2. Tropical Jungle - Act One

In the outskirts of Soleanna, deep within the area known as Tropical Jungle, there sat an abandoned lumbermill. Once used by the Soleannans before they entered into foreign trading, it now served as a well-guarded fortress used by the Eggman Empire to store and transport weapons.

Searchlights illuminated the area, revealing robotic search parties back-and-forth in the mill’s courtyard, armed with rifles, lances and rocket launchers. Badniks surrounded the outer perimeter, armed with alarm beacons that would alert the entire base to any attacker before they could penetrate the outer wall. A laser-defence grid surrounded the air above the site, with machine guns ready to gun down anything that set it off.

Shadow watched through binoculars as a shadowy figured scaled the mill’s wall, entering through a window that was slightly open. _“I’m inside,”_ came a voice through his earpiece. _“I can see the hostages. They’re unharmed, but they’re surrounded. I can’t risk acting yet.”_

Shadow tapped his earpiece and said, “Just stay where you are, Rouge. Omega, are you ready?”

_“Affirmative,”_ Omega responded. _“Give the word. I will tear Eggman’s robots asunder.”_

_“We only have a three second window before the robots react and turn on the hostages,”_ Rouge said. Shadow simply grinned.

“Three seconds? The Doctor’s not even trying anymore, is he?” He put away his binoculars and turned on his motorcycle, revving it as he watched for his signal. Lights in the distance told him that Omega was on his way, and Shadow stepped on the pedal and raced downhill.

As Eggman’s badniks detected the incoming vehicle, alarms sounded. Rouge watched as the robots guarding the hostages turned and faced the only way into the room. For now, they were fine, but if even one of the robots was defeated, the rest were programmed to eliminate the hostages.

A large GUN truck crashed through the hordes of badniks, shrugging off the bullets that were fired its way and then crashing into the outer wall. The robot soldiers inside opened fire, and in response, Omega jumped out of the back and rained down his own hellfire on the robots. “ELIMINATE ALL EGGMAN ROBOTS!”

Shadow raced towards the side of the mill. “ROUGE, NOW!” Rouge flipped a switch, and the laser grid turned off. It would only last for twenty seconds, but that was plenty of time. Shadow used a mound of dirt shaped like a ramp to jump over the wall, crashing through a window on the other side and entering mill.

The robots turned to face the new intruder, only to be met with a motorcycle flying towards them, knocking them down. The robots detected the attack and activated their emergency protocols, turning towards the hostages.

“Too slow!” Shadow shouted as he came out of his spindash, glowing with energy. The robots raised their guns, and the hostages panicked. “VANISH!”

In one second, an orange blue bounced between the robots, disabling each one before they could fire. As Shadow landed to the side, the robots collapsed to the ground, sparks flying from their bodies before they shutdown entirely.

Rouge jumped from the ceiling and landed gracefully on the ground, just as the truck burst through the doors of the mill and stopped, blocking the only way in from the robots still outside. Topaz emerged from the driver’s seat, and two more soldiers came out of the passengers’ side. “Is everybody okay?!” Topaz asked as the three approached the hostages, beginning the task of untying them.

“They are, thanks to Shadow,” Rouge said, grinning as Shadow turned his head away. “Let’s get everyone inside quickly. Omega’s tough, but he can’t hold out forever.”

_“Is that a challenge?”_ Omega asked, to which Rouge sighed. _“I dare you to come out here and say that to me directly.”_

“W-Wait!” One of the hostages, a young male, reached out and grabbed Topaz’s arm. He was flustered, sweat dripping down his face, and his legs trembled. “They took one of the hostages! You have to get her back!”

Shadow turned to the man, approaching him. “When was this?”

“Just before you showed up,” he said, backing away from the angry hedgehog. “T-They loaded her in a truck and drove off into the jungle…”

Shadow ran over to his motorcycle, pressing a button that opened a secret compartment housing an SMG and a pistol. He loaded up on the guns and then sat down on the bike, revving the engines. “Hold it, Shadow!” Rouge said. “We have to get the rest of the hostages out first!”

“You should be more than enough for that,” Shadow reasoned.

“We can’t deviate from the plan! We don’t know what nasty surprises Eggman has in store for us!”

Shadow looked over to Rouge. “I can handle it. I’m not gonna let him get away with even _one_ hostage.”

“Listen, you-” Before Rouge could finish, Shadow revved his motorcycle one final time.

“Omega! Blast a hole through the side of the mill!”

“Omega!” Rouge began, “Don’t-” She was cut off by an explosion, and as the smoke faded, Omega stood there, looking between Shadow and Rouge.

“… I am conflicted.”

Shadow smiled. “Thanks!” He raced off out of the mill and into the depths of the jungle.

Groaning, Rouge relented and retreated to the truck, boarding the back with the hostages. “Omega, you’re with me! Fight off any pursuers from behind!”

“Roger!” Omega withdrew from his onslaught and raced towards the truck as it moved to leave the lumbermill, jumping into the back mere seconds before it sped off. “Do not worry about Shadow. He is capable. He will rescue the hostage.”

“I’m sure he will,” Rouge said, pouting, “But it’d be nice if he’d stop and think before he acts.”

* * *

Shadow rode through the jungle, pushing the Dark Rider to its maximum performance. He spotted tire tracks in the road and followed them. He saw the truck up ahead and readied his gun. As he caught up, robots jumped out from the side, equipped with jetpacks to hover over him as they opened fire.

Shadow swerved to avoid the bullets, returning fire with his own and taking his attackers down. They crashed to the ground and exploded, knocking him off the road and into the think jungle foliage. Unable to control the Dark Rider’s steering, Shadow kicked himself off the motorcycle and resumed the hunt on-foot.

More robots came out to attack Shadow as he raced after the truck. He curled into a ball, launching off of a rock and into the air, and then came down on the first robot. As he knocked it down, he recoiled off of it and bounced over to the next one. He activated the jets in his shoes to hover in the air and shot up the last few, and then dropped back down to continue chasing the truck.

He aimed his SMG at the truck’s wheels and fired. One went out, and the truck veered violently, turning and crashing into a nearby tree. As Shadow nearly caught up, the ground began to shake. The trucks front doors opened, and two robots jumped out of either side, running towards the hedgehog.

“Distress signal transmitted. Reinforcements inbound.”

Shadow jumped and performed a homing attack at one of the robots and then ricocheted onto the other. “Go ahead and call for backup. There’s nothing the Doctor can cook up that will stop me!”

The ground shook again, and again, each time getting louder. Shadow heard a large growl coming from behind, and braced himself. In the distance, trees toppled over as something tore its way through them. When it revealed itself, Shadow found it to be a large robot in the shape of a dog, glowing lights over its body and on its head. He recognised it from the briefing: the Egg Cerberus.

“This is the robot that took out a GUN recon squad,” he recalled. “Well then, time for some payback!”

The robot roared and raised its paw, bringing it down on Shadow. The hedgehog bounded aside, dodging the attack as he opened fire. The bullets bounced harmlessly off its body and Cerberus simply turned its head to track him. “Damn, no good? Then let’s try tearing off that armour of yours!”

Shadow dodged another attack, and ran under the robot’s body, emerging on the other side before it could realise where he went. He jumped up onto the robot’s tail and grinded along its back, grabbing onto its horn and holding on as it thrashed about. He raised his fist and brought it down on the creature’s head, smashing it a few times before eventually causing the armour to crack.

“Now let’s try again!” Shadow pulled out his SMG and unloaded it on the crack. The armour shattered, revealing the robot’s core underneath, but at that point, Shadow was thrown off, soaring through the sky. He positioned himself and landed on his feet, and as Cerberus charged towards him, he fired… “What?!” His gun had ran out of ammo, and his spare magazines were in the Dark Rider!

Jumping aside to narrowly avoid the robot’s attack, Shadow grimaced. He threw aside the spent SMG and drew his pistol, firing at where the core was, but it was no use. Cerberus was moving too much for him to aim accurately with just a standard firearm.

Cerberus jumped into the air and came down on Shadow, who ran to avoid being crushed. As it landed, he attempted to jump once more onto its back, but it had become wise to his plan and jumped immediately, preventing him from reaching it.

“Damnit! Stay put already!”

“Shadow!” Turning around, Shadow found the GUN truck heading towards him, Rouge standing on top. She was holding something. “Catch!”

She threw the item, and Shadow caught it. He grinned. It was his trusty signature weapon, the Shadow Rifle. A weapon developed by a talented engineer, it was powered by a Chaos Drive, and could only be used by one such as Shadow, who could use Chaos Energy even without the use of an Emerald.

Cerberus crashed onto the ground again, and reared its head, preparing to charge. Shadow took aim at the core and fired. One shot was all it took, and the core began to spark and sizzle. Cerberus raised its head and roared, stomping and kicking as its entire body began to short-circuit. And then, it fell to the ground, its lights shutting off. The jungle was suddenly silent, save for the sound of the truck’s engine as it drove up to the site of the battle.

“Well well, it looks like you had your hands full with this one,” Rouge teased as she jumped off of the truck, gently touching down next to Shadow. “I’ll be taking that ‘thank you’ now.”

“I just let my guard down, that’s all,” Shadow responded, turning his head away. “… But thanks for picking up my slack.” Shadow suddenly felt pain as Rouge pulled on his ear, bringing his head down. “AH! H-HEY!”

“Listen you, if I wanted someone to rush in blind and not care about the consequences, I’d have called in Sonic for this mission!”

“But we had to rescue the hostage-”

“And we also had to consider the risks!” Rouge released Shadow and sighed, as the hedgehog righted himself and rubbed his ear. “I swear, you and Omega… it’s enough to drive a girl crazy!”

“Well, nobody’s forcing you to work with us,” Shadow returned.

“Yeah right. _Somebody_ has to keep you two in line!”

“Guys, maybe we can save this for later?” Topaz called out from inside the truck. “The hostage still needs rescuing, and someone needs to clear this obstruction out of the road.”

“Leave that to me,” Omega said. He approached the robot and his hands retracted, switching to sawblades. “I will cut it up and move just enough for the truck to be able to pass.”

“I’ll get the hostage,” Shadow said, approaching the crashed truck. Topaz got out and followed behind him, asking Rouge to watch their own vehicle. As Shadow reached the truck, he found a padlock on the back door. Closing his eyes, he raised his hand and focussed. “HIIIIYAH!” He chopped the padlock, causing it to break and fall to the floor.

“ _A-hem!_ ” Topaz held up the keys from the truck’s ignition to Shadow.

“… This way was faster,” he said as he opened the door. Peering inside, he found a human female sitting to one side. “Are you okay?”

“I-I am. Are you…”

“We’re GUN,” Topaz said, shining a flashlight into the vehicle. The hostage was a young woman with red hair, wearing a pretty white dress. She covered her eyes at the sudden intrusion of light. “Sorry.” Topaz moved the light aside, allowing the young woman to lower her hands and reveal her face. “We’re here to rescue you at your father’s request, Princess Elise.”

Shadow took a step back. “P-Princess?!”

“Sorry, we didn’t really have time to bring it up earlier,” Topaz said, reaching her hand inside to help the Princess out. “And you kinda sped off before I had a chance to tell you.”

“Um, thank you for saving me,” Elise said as she exited the truck, stopping to bow to Shadow. As she raised her head, her smile became visible. “I’m sorry if I caused you any problems.”

“None at all,” Shadow said, glancing over to the downed robot being hacked apart by Omega. “Well, not much anyway.”

“C’mon, we’ll escort you back to Soleanna.” Topaz led Elise over to their truck, leaving Shadow by the crashed Eggman vehicle. “You coming?” she asked him.

“I need to go find my bike,” Shadow said. “I’ll catch… up…” Looking inside the truck, Shadow saw something glowing red. He climbed in and approached it, leaning down to pick it up. “What’s this? It looks like… a transmitter?”

“Obstruction cleared!” Omega called out. “Ready to depart!”

Shadow crushed the device, deciding it couldn’t be anything good, and left the truck, racing off to find his Dark Rider. Topaz helped Elise into the back of the truck and then set off, Rouge and Omega defending the back once more.

* * *

Blaze groaned as she picked herself up, the sounds of birds chirping echoing in her head like a drill. She felt a gentle breeze and could smell grass around her. Looking around, she found herself to be in some sort of meadow. “What happened? How did I get… Ah!”

Flashes of last night shot through her mind. She could recall meeting with Eggman Nega, agreeing to call a truce with him, and then the two of them teleporting to this world together. “Nega!” She shot up and looked around. The man was nowhere to be found! Only his handcuffs were there, resting on the ground. They hadn’t been opened, though; it seemed as though he’d simply slipped them off.

She recalled when she arrived, she heard roars in the distance, and felt the ground trembling beneath her feet. That was when Nega hit her with something. Some sort of blunt weapon. His hands should have been secure though, and even _if_ he had broken free, she couldn’t believe he was able to get the jump on her. Her senses were usually sharper than that, especially when she was close to-

“The Sol Emeralds!” Blaze felt over her body, panicking when she couldn’t find them. Looking around, she found something shining on the ground. It was the green Sol Emerald! She picked it up and put it away, and looked for the rest, but she could only find three more. The blue, yellow and red Sol Emeralds were unaccounted for, and the four that she had weren’t reacting to any more nearby.

“Why would he take just _three_ of the Sol Emeralds?” she wondered aloud. “For that matter, why am I still alive? I don’t understand what his goal is here…”

Surveying her surroundings, Blaze found herself to be in the depths of a forest, or a jungle. Either way, she could find no signs of civilization around her, and she had no idea where she was. “I guess I’ll just have to wing it from here. I need to find Nega and get back the Sol Emeralds he took!” Picking a random direction, Blaze ran off into the jungle.


	3. Tropical Jungle - Act Two

Silver the Hedgehog winced as he flew through the city of Robotropolis, his eyes welling with tears as the stench of the toxic fumes hit him even through his protective mask. Everywhere around him, inactive robots lay on the ground, along with the rotting corpses of the soldiers who never made it back from the war.

The city was dead, but the pollution it gave off was still devastating the planet, preventing trees and flowers from growing, and forcing what few survivors were still out there to hide underground. There was competition for food and resources, to the point that nobody could trust anyone.

The Eggman Empire insignia appeared everywhere in the city, that demonic face grinning down at his victims, laughing at their struggles. “This isn’t right. None of it is.” Silver raised his altitude, soaring up the side of a tower. “None of this was here last time I left. I should’ve _fixed_ the future, not made it worse!”

When Silver had last left, his world was indeed in trouble, but not _this_ much trouble. Over half of the planet was uninhabitable, and what little remained was ruled by an iron-fisted government known as the Onyx City Council. He had discovered the event that would lead to his world’s eventual collapse was Doctor Eggman, who used the powers of the Wisps to defeat Sonic and his friends and then attacked the planet.

He had gone back and helped Sonic take down Eggman’s amusement park in space. Just as when he had defeated Eggman Nega and the Ifrit, the future did indeed change, but unlike then, it wasn’t an improvement.

Standing at the centre of the city was a large tower, the former base of operations of the man who had caused the destruction of this world. Silver couldn’t find any information on _how_ the future turned out this way, and thus was unable to go back and change anything this time, so he decided to do some investigating at the heart of it all.

As he reached the top of the tower, he broke through a window and entered. Inside was Eggman Nega, standing at a computer terminal that was showing images of his ancestor, Ivo Robotnik.

“Explain yourself, Nega!” Silver demanded, using his telekinesis to lift some nearby crates. “What have you done to this world?!”

“It took you long enough,” Nega said, stroking his moustache as he continued to stare at the monitor. “I take it you don’t like my new additions to your home?”

Silver gritted his teeth. “So you _are_ the one responsible for this! When I left, the world was a dystopian nightmare, but at least people were alive! You just… How many people died because of you?!”

“Because of _you_ , actually.” Nega turned, grinning his signature grin. “It was thanks to your efforts, after all, that the future changed in such a way. I really must thank you… Though, frankly, I couldn’t care less at this point.”

“You what?!”

“This world is dead. My armies are dead. Even _I_ won’t last for long at this rate.” Nega sighed, moving to a nearby chair and siting himself down. “I finally got everything I wanted, and yet… I feel nothing. No pride, no joy, I don’t even want to gloat and rub it in your face. I just feel empty now. I won, but at what cost?”

Silver didn’t say anything, but he did lower the crates down to the ground. He studied Nega’s face carefully, his sorrowful expression and the way that he simply stared back blankly at the hedgehog. Finally, he said, “Do you… _regret_ what you’ve done?”

Nega leaned back, and hesitated, before answering, “Maybe. Maybe it’s that, or maybe I’m simply not happy with winning like this. I don’t know… but I do know that, I would undo everything, if only I could.”

“Well… Well you can’t! Look at this world! The past had beautiful blue oceans and fields of green! People would gather in large cities and just… _talk_ to each other about things that made them happy. Things that made them smile. Sure there was conflict, but there were good people just living their lives, and doing their best to look out for the ones they loved. Now, everybody’s at each other’s necks. The world is so far-gone, nothing can _ever_ grow back! What could you possibly do to fix it?!”

Nega didn’t say a word. Instead, he simply held up a small, glowing gemstone. It was yellow, and rectangular. Silver felt like he’d seen it somewhere before.

“Wait,” he said, “Is that… Where did you get that?!”

“During my past exploits, I happened upon this. In fact, it was how I gained the upper hand over Sonic and his friends. With this, you can travel to the Sol Dimension… and stop me, _the past me_ , from executing my plan.”

Silver eyed the gemstone curiously. “Why should I trust you?”

“What would I have to gain by tricking you now?” Nega asked. “More to the point, what do you have to lose?”

“… Well, what would I need to do?”

“In the past, I infiltrated the Sol Dimension whilst Blaze was absent. I used that opportunity to seize the Jewelled Sceptre, and with its power, Sonic and Blaze stood no chance against me.”

“So what you’re saying is, I have to get to this ‘Jewelled Sceptre’ before you do?”

“It won’t be easy, but it’s the only chance we have.” Silver began to move forward, but Nega pulled the Emerald away. “Just… one thing.”

“Here it comes,” Silver said, rolling his eyes.

“Promise me you won’t kill me. In the past, I mean. I know the past me won’t really listen to reason, or understand that you’re helping him, but if possible, I would like to give him the chance to reform his ways. Maybe he can come to the same conclusions that I have, and understand that what he’s doing is fruitless.”

Silver closed his eyes, meditating on Nega’s request. “… I suppose I don’t have much choice, do I? Well, I can’t make any promises… If it comes down to it, the future is more important than your life. But I will try. I’ll show you as much mercy as I can.”

Nega smiled, a warm smile, rather than the usual menacing one. “Thank you.”

“But how am I going to go back to the past? Before, I used the power of the Time Stones, but in this new future-”

“Already taken care of.” Nega stood and made his way to a nearby painting of himself hanging on a wall. He removed the painting, revealing a vault underneath. After spinning the dial to unlock it, he pulled out a golden bracelet, glowing with a brilliant silvery light. “Before, you borrowed enough power from the Time Stones to do exactly two leaps through time. This Time Bracelet will do much the same thing. I’ve drained the Time Stones completely, and there should be enough power for you to jump through time a few times, though I can’t be sure of how many leaps it can offer you.”

“Two will be all I need,” Silver said, taking the bracelet and strapping it to his wrist. He then took the Sol Emerald, and asked, “Wouldn’t it be better if I found Blaze, and warned her about your plan?”

“At the time of my attack, Blaze’s exact whereabouts were unknown. By my calculations, when you arrive in the past, you won’t have long to reach the Sceptre before I do.”

“So no time to look for her,” Silver concluded. “Alright, guess it’s up to me then!” Silver turned and looked outside, into the distance of the dark, barren wasteland that was his world. “Just sit tight everyone! I’m going to create a future that’s good for us all!” Raising his arm, Silver’s bracelet began to glow. “Nega… You’re doing the right thing. I’ll see to it your past self sees that, too.”

A flash of light enveloped the room, and then Silver was gone. Nega watched the vacant space for a few seconds, before he began to chuckle under his breath. Pulling out a second Time Bracelet and the blue Sol Emerald, he said, “Yes, I _am_ doing the right thing, aren’t I?” Another flash of light filled the room, this time taking Eggman Nega away.

* * *

Back in the past, the GUN truck carrying the hostages through Tropical Jungle was nearing the exit. “We should reach Soleanna in good time at this rate,” Topaz said.

“We’re not in the clear yet,” Shadow said as he rode alongside the transport. “Eggman won’t give up so easily.”

“Something wrong with thinking positive?” Topaz asked. “Don’t be such a grouch.”

“The lives of the hostages are in our hands. We have to assume the worst at all times.”

Topaz rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I get it, but if Eggman was going to make a move our scouts would have let us know by now. We haven’t heard anything so that can only mean-”

“Incoming!” Shadow rode ahead, pulling out his Shadow Rifle as a small craft approached them. It was Eggman’s hovercraft, and the mad scientist himself was sitting inside!

“What?! Why weren’t we alerted?!”

“Ask later!” Rouge shouted from the back. “Turn around, now!”

“I can’t!” Topaz said, looking at the road. There was a huge drop to one side and thick mud to the other. “It’s too narrow here! I’ll just get the truck stuck!”

“Keep driving!” Shadow told her through his intercom. “I’ll take care of the doctor!”

Eggman laughed as he met the group. He slowed his speed to match theirs, staying in front of them. “Ah, Shadow the Hedgehog! Still using that low-grade imitation tech, I see!”

“This bike and this gun are better than anything _you_ could ever make!” Shadow aimed at the craft and fired. A barrier deflected the shot.

“You were saying?”

Shadow grunted. He fired another shot, but it too was deflected. The barrier didn’t seem to be weakening. “What do you want with the princess?” he asked, hoping to stall him as he thought.

“Let’s just say she has some knowledge that I’m interested in. It’s nothing you would know about, at any rate. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m in a hurry…”

“Yeah? Well slow down a little.” Rouge, standing on top of the truck, threw a small device at Eggman’s craft. Shadow took aim and waited for it to be close enough, and then fired, triggering an explosion that coated Eggman in a veil of smoke. “Did that get him?”

“Negative!” Omega said as he joined Rouge. The smoke dissipated, revealing Eggman still flying above them. “Eggman is still alive. Rectifying…” Omega opened fire at the scientist, but the barrage was also deflected. “Eggman defences too strong. New strategy required.”

“Here, try playing with _these_ for now.” Eggman snapped his fingers, and several Egg Pawns dropped down ahead of the escort, along with some larger Egg Hammers. The Egg Hammers reached out as Shadow rode between them, stopping the GUN truck in its tracks.

Shadow hit the brakes and turned around. He saw Eggman flying over the truck, his shields still deflecting Omega’s attacks as though they were nothing. “No!” He jumped off of his bike and raced forwards, shooting the robots as he made his way back to the truck, but he was too late.

“Help!” Elise cried as Eggman’s craft rose up higher into the air. A large, metallic arm stretched out, and Princess Elise was clasped in its hand. “No! Let me go!”

“Settle down, Princess,” Eggman said. “This ride has no seatbelts. Wouldn’t want you falling now, would we?”

Elise stopped struggling as she looked down at the ground growing increasingly distant from her. “I’m going after her!” Shadow shouted as he raced past the truck, chasing Eggman’s craft through the jungle.

“I’m coming too!” Rouge said, following behind Shadow in the air. “Omega, get the rest of the hostages back to Soleanna!”

Shadow aimed him rifle at the craft, but couldn’t get a clear shot. The arm wasn’t stationery; it waved about, putting Elise in the path of his shot at random times. It wasn’t safe enough to fire, and even if he _could_ shoot the arm without hitting Elise, there’d be no telling what direction she’d fly off in.

“Rouge, can you fly up there and free her?”

“It’s too fast,” Rouge said as she trailed behind Shadow. “We should have brought the Extreme Gear.”

Shadow looked around, seeing if there was anything he could use to help him reach the hovercraft. He noticed a large tree ahead of them that stretched high into the air, and he sped up, running past Eggman and racing up the bark of the tree, circling around it to build speed.

“I don’t think so,” Eggman said, pressing a button on his craft to fire a missile barrage at the tree. Shadow managed to outrun the salvo and landed on a branch near the top. “How about _this_?!”

Shadow watched as more missile flew towards him, and he waited until they were closer, before jumping off and landing on the first one, then onto the next, then the next. As he jumped off the final one, they all exploded, propelling him forwards. Eggman swerved to avoid, but Shadow manged to grab onto the metallic arm. “Elise, grab my hand!”

Elise reached out to grab Shadow’s hand, and Eggman suddenly spun the craft around, turning it upside-down. “Kyaaaaaaa!” Elise closed her eyes and retracted her hand, clutching onto the arm holding her for fear she might otherwise fall.

“Elise!” Shadow called, but it was no use. She was clearly too scared. “Elise, you have to trust me. I want to help you, but I need your help.”

Elise slowly opened her eyes. She could see the black hedgehog staring at her, not with the fiery glare that she saw earlier, but now with concern for her safety. “O-Okay… I’ll try.” Elise slowly began to reach out her hand, inching it towards Shadow’s.

“That’s it,” Shadow encouraged. “Just a little more.”

“Shadow, watch out!” Rouge shouted. It wasn’t through the intercom, but it still sounded close.

Shadow looked down and saw that he was dangerously close to the ground. Eggman had been lowering his altitude whilst he was engaged in trying to save Elise! Elise was safe, but Shadow was dangling, and would make contact with the ground any second now.

“Shadow, let go!” Rouge told him.

“But the Princess!”

“Your choice, Shadow!” Eggman taunted. “Even _you_ won’t get off with just some cuts and scrapes if I drag you across the ground at _this_ speed!”

Shadow considered breaking off the arm, but Rouge wasn’t close enough to catch Elise. Elise pulled her hand back. “Please, just save yourself!” she told him. “I’ll be fine!” She smiled, but he could tell it was just an act.

“… I’ll be back for you,” Shadow said, letting go and touching down safely. Eggman righted his craft and regained altitude, and Shadow immediately resumed the chase. They entered a swampy area of the jungle, and there was no clear path through. “Rouge!”

“Got it!” Rouge grabbed Shadow’s arms and carried him over the murky waters. She couldn’t move as fast as Shadow, though, especially not when carrying his weight, so they were quickly losing Eggman. “He’s gonna get away.”

“Up there,” Shadow said, looking towards the top of a large canopy. “Get me up high. I won’t fail this time.”

“I’d better be getting paid extra for this,” Rouge said as she exerted more effort to fly higher. As they reached the top, she released Shadow and landed, panting heavily. “You… go on ahead…”

Shadow only gave a nod before he raced off on his own. He grinded along a vine that travelled through the jungle, and kept his eyes on Eggman the whole time. When the vine appeared to be leading away from the doctor, he jumped and landed onto a nearby branch. Hopping from tree-to-tree, he found another vine that travelled in the same direction that Eggman was heading in.

He jumped off onto the top of another tree, and grabbed hold of a third vine. This time, he jumped down, using the vine as a bungy-chord to propel himself into the air and skydive above the hovercraft.

He took out his rifle and aimed it at the arm. If he could shoot it off, then he could grab Elise on the way down. It was risky, but he was sure that he could pull it-

A shot rang through the air, and his rifle was knocked out of his hands. “What?!” Shadow looked around for the source of the gunfire. He found three of Eggman’s robots flying down towards him. They fired again, and Shadow was forced to hasten his descent to avoid the bullets. As he hit the ground, the robots came down to confront him. Big mistake, he thought, as he deftly avoided their shots and took all three out with his homing attack.

He found his rifle lying nearby on the ground, though it appeared to be broken. Electricity fizzled along the barrel, and smoke was rising out. He put it away and turned his attention to Eggman, who was now making his way higher into the air, towards a large airship. More robots were flying in the air, keeping him safe as he moved past them.

“He got away,” Shadow spoke through the intercom, his voice calm despite his feelings.

“You giving up already?”

Shadow gasped. He turned, and saw Sonic the Hedgehog standing before him. “What? What are you-”

“We were here on some business, and saw Eggman heading this way, so we came to check it out.”

“‘We’?” Shadow saw Tails and Amy behind Sonic, sitting in Tails’ Cyclone. He laughed. “You always have to get involved, don’t you?”

“Where there’s adventure, you’ll find me not too far,” Sonic said. “So how ‘bout it? Want a ride?”

Shadow simply shrugged, and the two hedgehogs jumped onto the Cyclone, each taking a separate wing. “So what’s the story?” Amy asked as they lifted into the air.

“Eggman’s taken a prisoner. Her name’s Elise,” Shadow told them. “She’s the Princess of Soleanna.”

“Oh wow, again?” Sonic asked, before scratching his head. “No, wait, I think that was… Ah, never mind. Point is, we need to get in there, rescue the Princess and bust up the place on the way out.”

“So not _that_ different from what we normally do,” Amy said. “Leave it to me! Eggman needs to learn a thing or two about how to properly treat a lady!”

As they approached the retreating airship, they came into contact with Eggman’s robots. “You guys ready?” Tails asked.

Shadow loaded his SMG, Amy pulled out her hammer, and Sonic cracked his knuckles. “Bring it on!”


	4. Egg Carrier - Act One

Elise was thrown into a cell by Doctor Eggman, and as soon as her wrist was no longer being firmly gripped by his hand, she rushed at the mad scientists, hoping to push him aside and make a break for it. Unfortunately, she came face-to-face with the cell’s door as it was slammed in her face. “Careful, Princess,” Eggman said, grinning as he looked down on her on the other side of the bars. “I need you alive, but _not_ unharmed.”

“What do you want with me?!” Elise demanded. “If it’s money, my father will-”

“Look around, Princess. Does it _look like_ I need money? Anything I want, I _take_!”

“Then…”

Eggman simply waved a finger in her face. “All in good time, Your Highness. I have it on good authority that you hold the key to a very special power, a power that disappeared rather suddenly from this world.” Seeing her confusion, Eggman simply uttered one word: “Solaris.”

Elise gasped. It was not a word she was expecting to hear. Solaris was the God worshipped by the people of Soleanna, though she knew there were many who didn’t truly believe it existed. She herself wasn’t sure, but when she heard the name escape Eggman’s lips, she felt that something was wrong. For some reason, she felt that he shouldn’t have known anything about Solaris.

Before she could ask anything further, Eggman turned away, leaving a single robot at Elise’s cell as he wandered through his ship. Sighing, Elise turned around and examined her cell. It was luxurious, at least. A comfy bed, a nice chair and a vanity, a bookshelf, and even a toilet built into a small cubicle to offer privacy.

Walking over to the bookcase, she found that most of the books were on engineering, robotics, and information technology. Not anything that interested the young Princess particularly. “I have to get out of here,” she whispered to herself, looking over to the robot guarding her. “But how can I? Oh, if only I wasn’t so weak…”

* * *

The Cyclone flew around the side of the massive airship, the Egg Carrier Mk. 2, firing at the approaching robots flying at them from within. Egg Pawns equipped with jetpacks fired on them whilst the ship’s cannons backed them up.

Shadow fired back at the robots and Amy deflected the cannon fire with her hammer, knocking out the cannons as they flew. More Egg Pawns arrived, this time backed-up by Camerons – turtle-like robots with cannons imbedded in their shells. Sonic jumped off the Cyclone’s wing and landed on one of the Camerons, delivering a kick that knocked out its hover unit, and then bounced to the next and did the same. After sending the last Cameron falling, he made his way back to the Cyclone by jumping along the Egg Pawns that were being shot down by Shadow.

“There’s an airstrip up ahead,” Tails said, “But it’s heavily guarded.”

“So we’ll just sneak in quietly, eh?” Sonic said with a grin.

“Right, like _you_ can do anything quiet,” Shadow returned, causing Tails and Amy to laugh.

“Got me there,” Sonic admitted with a shrug.

A swarm of E-2000 units flew out of the ship and blocked the Cyclone’s path, forcing it to pull up suddenly as they fired their laser cannons at the plane. “Whoa! This might be a problem,” Tails said, watching as the robots held up their shields to protect themselves from the Cyclone’s missiles.

Sonic began stretching his legs. “I got this. Get ready to catch me, Tails!”

“Wait, do what?” Without answering, Sonic jumped off and landed on one of the E-2000 robots. “SONIC!”

Sonic held the robot tight and forced it to turn as it charged its laser cannon. By the time it fired, it was facing the other units, who were in-turn facing _it_. Sonic jumped just as the attacks went off and narrowly escaped the ensuing explosions. As he fell down, his back to the ground, Sonic decided to take a moment to rest his arms behind his head and close his eyes.

Tails manoeuvred the Cyclone down, past Sonic, and righted it just in-time for Sonic to grab one of the wing and jump back on, dusting himself off and giving the group a thumbs-up. “Piece of cake!”

Amy sighed as she fell back in the passenger’s seat, a hand on her forehead. “Honestly, Sonic! You scared me half-to-death!”

Tails laughed as he resumed flying towards the front of the Egg Carrier. “He does that kinda thing a lot. You get used to it… sorta.” More robots flew out of the ship to intercept the group. “We’re not in the clear yet, though!”

Sonic crouched as he watched the robots approach. “Bring ‘em on!”

* * *

Eggman entered the control room of his ship, where Orbot and Cubot were at the helm, monitoring the situation and organising defences. “What’s happening?” he asked as he approached, observing the monitors. “Don’t tell me Shadow followed me up _here_.”

“Not just Shadow, Boss,” Orbot said. He brought up an image on one of the monitors of the Cyclone flying around the outside of his airship, dancing around his cannons and firing at them. His robots flew outside to intercept them, but Sonic, Shadow and Amy were knocking them all out of the air.

“Sonic?! Ugh, of _course_ he’d show up.” Eggman sighed and slumped himself down into his seat, rubbing his temples as he felt a headache coming on. He observed the battle unfolding and growled at the sheer incompetence of his forces. “Come on! Shoot them down! It’s just one little airplane!”

“Boss, at this rate, they will land at the front of the Egg Carrier,” Orbot reported.

“Then prepare a welcoming committee.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Uh, Boss?” Cubot spoke up, scratching his head as he stared at a different monitor.

“This better be _good_ news, Cubot,” Eggman warned as he glared at the yellow robot.

“Oh, never mind then.” Cubot went back to work, oblivious to Eggman glaring daggers at the back of his head.

Gritting his teeth, Eggman raised a fist and slammed it down onto the armrest of his chair. “I was being sarcastic! What’s the problem?!”

“Well, y’know that Princess ya brought in? The one from Soleanna?”

“Shockingly, yes, I _do_ remember that. Don’t tell me she’s escaped!”

“Okay, I won’t. But uh, she’s not in her cell anymore…”

Eggman rushed forwards, pushing Cubot out of the way as he examined the monitor. As Cubot said, Elise’s cell was open, the robot guarding it knocked onto its side, and there was no sign of the Princess anywhere. “Well what are you waiting for?! FIND HER!”

“Sir, Sonic and his friends-” Orbot began.

“Not now! I need to find that princess before she gets away!” Eggman began cycling through various feeds, scanning the entire ship for any signs of the runaway Princess.

“But Doctor, the Cyclone has landed and-”

“NOT. NOW.” Eggman continued searching, eventually stopping as he finally found a camera that could see Elise, just as she ran through a door to another room. “There you are! Time to put the escapee back in her cell.”

Orbot and Cubot watched as Eggman picked up a handgun and left the room, leaving _them_ to handle the situation with Sonic’s group. “So uh, what were you tryin’ ta tell him?” Cubot asked.

Orbot sighed. “That Sonic and his friends are making short work of our ‘welcoming committee’.”

* * *

Sonic threw one Egg Pawn into a group of four more, knocking them down as Shadow gunned down the ones attempting to parachute down from above. Amy smacked her hammer down onto the floor, creating a shockwave that knocked the defensive Camerons onto their backs, allowing Tails to take them out with his explosive Dummy Rings.

Sonic and Shadow rushed on ahead to clear out the cannons targeting everyone, leaving Tails and Amy to finish off the remaining Egg Pawns that were now scrambling along the runway.

As they took down the last of the robots, they caught sight of a young woman running from Eggman in the distance. “Elise!” Shadow and Sonic called out in unison.

The four ran ahead, catching the attention of Eggman, who was chasing after her. “Oh no you don’t!” Eggman snapped his fingers, and the floor opened between himself and Sonic’s group, forcing them to stop. Three Heavy-Egg Hammers rose up from inside the ship and impeded their path. “Go play with _them_! The Princess and I are in the middle of something!”

Sonic tried to sidestep the robots, but one swung its hammer at him quickly, prompting Tails to suddenly lift him into the air and fall back. “Whoa! Thanks, Tails!”

“We don’t have time for this!” Shadow fired at the robots, but his bullets weren’t strong enough to pierce the heavy armour.

“We need to strip away the armour, first!” Amy said, spinning in-place with her hammer extended out. She gathered a strong wind at the head of her hammer, and then just as one of the robots raised its fist, ready to strike the group, she stopped spinning and launched a small tornado at it.

The tornado caused the robot’s helmet and some of its chest armour to go flying off, exposing the weaker metallic body lying beneath. “Okay, now it’s our turn!” Sonic said. Tails carried him into the air and he curled himself into a ball.

“Take this!” Tails shouted as he fired Sonic into the robot’s exposed chest. The blow caused a shock to the robot’s systems that left it paralyzed, and Shadow took the chance to get behind it and deliver a decisive blow to its neck, severing its head from its body.

The large robot fell and crashed onto the floor, leaving only two more behind.

Meanwhile, Eggman had chased Elise to the edge of the airship. The young Princess glared at him defiantly as he reached out his hand. “Come now, Princess, you shouldn’t do such dangerous things. Why don’t you come back here where it’s safe?”

“Safe? With _you_?!” Elise looked over to Sonic, Shadow, Amy and Tails. They had taken down _one_ of the robots, but as they were preparing to defeat the other two, they were oblivious to the large craft approaching them from behind, shaped like a hawk and armed with large machineguns. “LOOK OUT!”

Sonic’s ears twitched as Elise’s words reached her. He turned around and saw the Egg Hawk approaching, mere seconds before it began firing down on the group. In an instant, Sonic grabbed Tails and Amy’s wrists and ran, startling his friends as he ran across the runway with them flailing behind him. “Shadow, look out!”

Shadow noticed what was happening and swiftly ran in the opposite direction, unable to follow the rest as the Egg Hawk landed and cut them off. It faced Sonic, Tails and Amy as the two Heavy-Egg Hammers advanced on Shadow.

“This isn’t good,” he admitted, backing up cautiously. He spotted more Egg Pawns jumping out of the Egg Hawk and advancing on both fronts.

“Sonic, I think we have to leave,” Tails said, his ears flat against his head as he realised how quickly they were becoming outnumbered.

“We can’t, not until we rescue Elise,” Sonic said.

“Even if we _could_ rescue Elise, we can’t carry her through _all this_ safely.”

“But-”

“Let them go!” Elise shouted. All eyes turned to her. “Let them go, now, or else I’ll…” She motioned to the drop behind herself.

Eggman could only laugh at her threat. “Please. You would honestly kill yourself, just like that? Your words are empty.” He took a step forwards, but stopped when she lifted a foot. She inched it backwards, and it now hovered over the edge. Suddenly, the Doctor broke out into a sweat. “N-Now hang on, let’s not do anything rash. Er…” Begrudgingly, Eggman turned to his Robots and waved his arm.

The robots stopped advancing, and Sonic started to make his way towards Eggman, but he stopped when the Doctor pulled out his gun and pointed it at Elise. “I’m letting you go, Sonic, but only because I need _her_ alive! But if you’re planning to stop me anyway, then she’s useless to me!”

“Eggman!” Sonic growled.

Shadow aimed his gun and wondered if he could disarm Eggman from such a distance. Before he could try, though, Elise spoke up. “All of you, just go!” she cried. “Save yourselves!”

“Not gonna happen!” Sonic told her.

With a reassuring smile, Elise said, “Trust me. I’ll be fine.” She stared into Sonic’s eyes for a few moments, Sonic staring back, and then she took a step backwards, falling over the side of the ship.

“ELISE!” Sonic cried as he rushed forwards, he and Eggman peering over the side of the ship together. A bright light startled them both, followed by an intense heat as a wave of fire rushed up before them. Grinning, Sonic turned back and called out to Tails, “Get back to the Cyclone!”

“On it!” Tails responded, grabbing Amy’s wrist and pulling her along. “Shadow, c’mon!”

“But-” Shadow began.

“Don’t worry,” Sonic said as he passed him, giving a confident grin. “Elise is fine. _She’s_ got her.”

Though he wasn’t sure what Sonic was saying, Shadow followed after him regardless, racing back towards the Cyclone as the robots fired on them.

Eggman fumed as the flames dissipated, revealing the regal visage of Blaze the Cat, carrying a dishevelled Elise in her arms. “YOU?! What are _you_ doing here?” he demanded as he fired, only for the shots to be deflected by a wall of fire.

“Sorry, Doctor Eggman!” Elise called out, blowing a raspberry and giving a sly wink. “You’re just not my type!”

Blaze simply shrugged. “She turned you down, Eggman. Don’t worry, I’ll see to it she gets home safe!”

“GET BACK HERE!” Eggman demanded, attempting to fire at the retreating cat, only to find that his magazine was spent. Throwing the pistol down in a rage, Eggman spoke into his intercom, “Metal Sonic, go after them! I don’t care _what_ condition she’s in, just bring the Princess back _alive_.”

_“Oh dear,”_ Orbot sighed over the radio. _“He’s in one of his moods again.”_

_“I hate when he gets like this,”_ Cubot lamented.

“Shut it, both of you!” Eggman warned. He took a moment to compose himself, and then stared out into the direction that Blaze was heading in. “… Turn the ship around. I’ll get Elise back, even if I have to pluck her from her home!”

* * *

Elise held on tight to Blaze as they soared through the sky. She did her best to avoid looking down, but even then, the thought of being carried miles in the air made the Princess uneasy. She could feel herself sweating profusely, but didn’t dare wipe it away as it would mean removing her hands from around Blaze’s neck.

“Sorry, are my flames too hot?” Blaze asked. “I can’t really control the temperature too well. To me, fire doesn’t feel any hotter than a gentle breeze.”

“Oh, no, it’s not that,” Elise said, although now that Blaze had brought it up, she had become aware of the raging flames all around her. “Um, thank you for rescuing me, Miss Blaze.”

“It’s just Blaze, and don’t mention it. I’m sorry I had to leave you back there, but I had to make sure there was a safe opening to carry you through the sky. So tell me, why did Eggman have you trapped there? Something tells me he wasn’t just looking for a bride.”

“I don’t even know myself, actually,” Elise said with a sigh. “He said that I had something he needed, and that he needed me alive, but he didn’t really say much else than that. Other than the name ‘Solaris’.”

“‘Solaris’?” Blaze asked with a gasp.

“Have you heard of it?”

“… No. Well, I’m not sure…”

“Solaris is the God of our people. I remember my father once showed me a flame that he said was Solaris itself, but I was only a child back then and I don’t fully remember what he said…”

“A flame…”

“Something’s coming this way!”

Blaze slowed, turning her head to look over her shoulder. There, she saw what appeared to be Sonic racing through the sky towards them… No, it _wasn’t_ Sonic! “Hang on, Princess!” Blaze straightened out her body and propelled herself with all the power she could muster.

“It’s gaining on us!”

“Damn! I can’t go any faster than this while I’m carrying somebody!” Blaze could now feel the murderous gaze of her pursuer on her. “… Elise, I’m gonna-”

“BLAZE!” Looking to the side, Blaze found a blue plane racing alongside her, being piloted by Tails. Amy sat in the passenger seat, whilst Sonic and Shadow stood on either wing. “DOWN HERE!” Sonic called out, his arms open.

Nodding, Blaze lifted a nervous Elise and steadied her aim. “Sorry, Princess!” she said as she threw Elise down towards the Cyclone.

Elise screamed as she raced down. Sonic reached out and grabbed her, almost losing his balance and falling off of the wing, until Amy reached out and pulled him back. Sighing, Sonic carefully helped Elise into the passenger seat. Though it was cramped with both her and Amy in there together, it was probably preferrable to the dazed woman whose skin was growing increasingly pale.

“Are you alright?” Amy asked, grunting as she shifted so that the two of them could fit better together.

“I-I’m fiiiiiine,” Elise said, the world spinning around her.

“We’ll go on ahead to Soleanna!” Sonic told her.

Blaze nodded. “I’ll see you there!” she said, eyeing the large city in the distance. “ _After_ I take care of _this_.”

Metal Sonic stopped in front of Blaze, scanning the plane that was ahead of her. He lifted an arm and charged an energy attack, directing it at the Cyclone. However, Blaze intercepted the shot by kicking the arm so that it fired into the sky.

“Eyes on me!”

Metal swung a metallic claw at Blaze. She somersaulted away and countered with a heatwave that forced Metal to lower his altitude. He could no longer see her, so he scanned his surroundings, detecting movement to his left and raising his arm just in-time to parry a kick. Grabbing the leg to prevent Blaze from moving away, Metal charged an energy attack and aimed at her face.

Blaze drove both of her feet into Metal’s chest and unleashed twin jets, playing tug-of-war with Metal’s arm as his attack continued to charge. The arm came loose just as Metal fired off his blast, and Blaze narrowly avoided losing her head as she was propelled away from the robot, taking his left arm with her.

Shaking for a moment, Metal righted himself and took a moment to assess the damage, before raising his head and glaring into Blaze’s eyes. “Want to run away now before I send the _rest_ of you to the scrap heap?” she threatened, throwing the arm to the side and allowing it to fall to the ground.

Metal responded by charging Blaze, activating his shield as he crashed into her fiery wall. Blaze grunted as she felt herself being pushed back, and had to really exert herself to keep Metal from breaching her defences. Her ears picked up a faint whistling sound, and as she turned to find the source of it, Metal broke through and delivered a punch to her face.

Her concentration broken, Blaze’s flame dissipated, and she could now see a missile racing towards her. Grunting, Blaze just barely managed to unleash a ball of flames to detonate the missile before it reached her, though the shockwave sent her flying backwards. Metal Sonic was on her before she could right herself, and he grabbed her by the collar and dropped her onto his knee.

He pulled her up and was about to deliver another blow to her spine, but the furious cat was able to grab his remaining arm and kept him at bay long enough to catch her breath. “RAAAAARRRRRRGH!” Flames enveloped both of their bodies as Blaze tightened her grip on the arm.

Metal Sonic attempted to pull away, but was unable to free himself. Alarms stated to sound in his head as his body warned him that he was about to overheat. Panicking, he began to fire small energy blasts, but Blaze had made sure that they would all miss.

In a last-ditch effort to save himself, Metal Sonic pulled hard, again and again, until his arm finally gave way and was ripped from his body. He moved back some distance and looked over at Blaze, who was now upright and staring back at Metal, his arm melting as she continued to grip firmly onto it.

After taking a moment to evaluate the situation, Metal unleashed a smokescreen to obscure Blaze’s vision, and then activated his turbos in order to rush past her, making his way back to the Egg Carrier.

“Coward,” Blaze spat as she watched him retreat. She threw away the arm and let her flames die down. As she relaxed, she felt a sharp pain in her back and reached behind to feel the sore spot. “Nn! That’s gonna hurt for a while…” Looking over towards the city, Blaze took a moment to breathe, and then took-off.


	5. Soleanna

Eggman fumed as he watched Metal Sonic arrive with both of his arms missing, sparks flying from the exposed wires in the open sockets. “No way! I can’t _believe_ this!” he yelled, stamping his foot.

Orbot and Cubot rushed to examine the damaged robot. “Oh dear,” Orbot said as he examined one arm. “A lot of the circuitry here appears to be melted!”

“Ya probably should’ve put on sunscreen, huh?” Cubot asked, laughing as he patted Metal Sonic’s back. Metal was not so amused, turning to glare at him. “Er, never mind, I’ll just check you quietly…”

Eggman approached, examining the damage for himself. “Well, that feline’s flames _are_ quite hot. I should know, having almost had my moustache burned off by them before!” He looked Metal Sonic in the eyes. “Please tell me you at _least_ recorded the battle data.” Metal nodded, and Eggman smiled. “Good! After I’ve extracted that data, you can go and get yourself repaired! Maybe some good will come of all this, if I can find a way to counter Blaze’s Pyrokinesis!”

“Boss, what about the Princess?” Orbot asked.

“We’ll reach Soleanna soon enough. GUN won’t just leave her alone after this, and neither will Sonic. They’ll try to move her. _That’s_ when I’ll strike.”

“And if they don’t?” Cubot asked. Eggman answered only with a devious grin.

* * *

“Eggman won’t stop once he’s got his sights set on something,” Sonic said. “He’d even attack the whole city just to get to her.”

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Tails agreed with a frown.

Upon returning Elise to her father, Duke Nigel of Soleanna welcomed the heroes and invited them to the Royal Chamber to discuss the situation. There, Shadow reunited with Rouge and Topaz. The Duke was concerned that Eggman might try to kidnap his daughter again, and Sonic and Shadow only confirmed his worries. “We must prepare for an attack,” he decided.

“Your military might be strong, and you may fight valiantly,” Shadow began, “But against a full force of Eggman’s robots, the city will suffer a lot of damage, and many causalities. Eggman won’t limit his fire only to soldiers, either.”

The Duke’s heart sank at that. “I can’t involve the citizens in this. They must be evacuated.”

“That’ll just make them easier targets,” Sonic pointed out. “Eggman’ll be here soon enough in that ship of his. I hate to say it, but things are probably gonna be bad for Soleanna unless we can draw Eggman away from the city somehow.”

“The only thing he’s interested in is Elise,” Blaze pointed out, to which Nigel huffed.

“My daughter has been through enough for one day! She will not be used as bait!”

“Calm down! I’m sure Blaze didn’t mean it like that,” Amy said, turning to Blaze for reassurance. “Right?”

“What I _mean_ , is that we can lure Eggman away by making him believe that Elise is elsewhere.”

Tails considered the plan. “But it’s a risky gamble. We’d have to protect the fake, or he’ll only get madder when he realises he’s been duped. Elise would also need to go into hiding for a while…”

Rouge chuckled, turning all eyes towards her as she stepped forwards. “Well, if you’re willing, Your Highness, GUN would like to offer your daughter protection.”

“I don’t want to be indebted to you any more than I already am!” Nigel replied. “The current Commander _says_ that GUN is being reformed and atoning for its past, but I won’t believe it until I see it with my own eyes! GUN has strayed from the righteous path many times before, and I won’t put my daughter’s life in their hands!”

“Sir, our only desire is to help you protect your daughter,” Topaz assured him. “Please, consider what is best for Princess Elise and-”

“And you think that that’s leaving her with _you_?!” Nigel felt a tug on his arm, and he turned to find Elise looking at him with a sorrowful look, shaking her head. “Elise, please, I… I don’t want to lose you as I have your mother…”

“I know that you want to protect me, Father, but I’ve seen what kind of man Doctor Eggman is. If you resist him, he won’t hesitate to kill everyone in his way, even _you_.” Elise turned to those gathered in the room. “They saved me, and I believe that they can help us. I know that you want Soleanna to stand on its own, but… maybe, just this once, we can ask them for help? If not GUN, then trust in _them_.” She gestured to Sonic and his friends. “We can trust them. I _know_ we can.”

“…” Nigel sighed, holding a hand to his head as he walked over to his throne and sat down. Elise followed, placing a supportive hand over his own and giving him a gentle smile. Turning back to Topaz and Rouge, he asked, “Even if you get her out of here, Eggman will just change his target, no? How will you continue to keep her safe?”

Rouge and Topaz exchanged grins. “Oh, don’t worry about that,” Rouge said. “As long as we can get Elise back to GUN’s headquarters, she’ll be safe. Here’s what we propose…”

* * *

Several hours passed, and Eggman continued to watch from afar as he waited for any signs of movement from Soleanna’s palace. Tapping his fingers impatiently, he waited and watched as soldiers ran around the palace exchanging information. “It looks like they’re finally starting to move. Orbot, anything to report?”

“There appears to be a convoy of GUN vehicles heading towards the city,” Orbot reported. “It’s not enough to ward off an invasion, though.”

Eggman turned to see the monitor. Four GUN jeeps, all with tinted windows and reinforced frames, entered the city and made for the palace. “Ohohoho! They think they can sneak her out of the city, do they?”

“Well I would hardly call it ‘sneaking’,” Orbot retorted, only to be met with a fist slamming down on his head.

“I would hardly call it a good plan, either! They think I wouldn’t dare attack any of their vehicles if I didn’t know for sure which one the princess was in! Unfortunately for them, I have ways of acquiring the information I need!” Eggman pushed a button on the console and watched with glee as several drones assembled before him, before being ejected from the ship.

* * *

“We’re almost ready,” Rouge announced. Everybody followed her to get ready for the coming mission.

Sonic stopped suddenly, turning to Blaze. “Oh, right, I almost forgot.” He took out the blue Sol Emerald, handing it to Blaze.

She gasped, taking the jewel and making sure it was real. “Where did you…”

“It fell into my lap, if you can believe it,” Sonic told her with a shrug. “I figured you must have lost them again. It started glowing and we followed it here.”

Blaze took out her own Emeralds, and they all started to glow. “That explains it. The ones I had also started to react, and when I followed them, I saw you guys attacking Eggman’s airship. I thought that _he_ must have had the three that were stolen from me, and when I searched his ship, I ran into Elise.”

“‘Stolen’?”

Blaze nodded. “By Nega. I’m ashamed to admit it, but he somehow got the jump on me and stole three of my Sol Emeralds… I wonder why he gave _you_ one of them?” Sonic scratched his head, unable to come up with a response. “In any case, thank you for returning it. This just leaves two more unaccounted for.”

The Duke approached the two, a worried look on his face and his clenched fists shaking. “I am still unsure about all of this,” he told them, “But there is really no other choice. Soleanna is ill-prepared for a full attack from Doctor Eggman. Please, take good care of my girl.” He bowed before the two, and his guards, flanking him to either side, did the same.

“Don’t sweat it,” Sonic said. “Elise is our friend! We’ll keep her safe.”

“Before we go,” Blaze began, “Elise said that Eggman was after something related to ‘Solaris’, and that you know something about it.”

“Solaris?” Nigel asked as he rose, a surprised look on his face.

“She also mentioned a flame.”

Nigel nodded his head. “The Flame of Hope.”

“Flame of… ‘Hope’?”

“If that’s what Eggman is after, then he’s wasting his time,” Nigel said with a huff. “Long ago, I had plans to use them Flame of Hope to help the people of Soleanna, and to reunite Elise with her mother. However, one day, I found that the flame had gone out.”

“What happened?” Sonic asked.

Nigel simply shrugged. “There was no trace of anyone having broken into the facility, where the Flame of Hope was kept. It had simply been extinguished.”

“So Solaris is…”

“No more,” Nigel confirmed. “Naturally, I have concealed this news from the people. I would appreciate it if the two of you could also keep it a secret. It _could_ cause them to panic.”

Blaze and Sonic nodded, and then Blaze asked, “You mentioned you wanted to use its power to help the people. What sort of power _did_ Solaris have?”

“Solaris was the God of Time,” Nigel explained. “By harnessing its power, I was hoping that we could bring back those who we have lost. A world devoid of death.”

“That seems… dangerous,” Blaze said, closing her eyes. “Though I can’t deny it sounds nice. Even _I_ would like to see my parents again…”

Sonic shrugged. “Clinging onto the past won’t get you anywhere. Shadow can tell you that much.”

“… In any case, the project ended that day, as did the promise I made to Elise.” Nigel turned to leave. “You shouldn’t keep the others waiting, and I have much to do, so if that is all that you needed…”

“Thanks for your time,” Blaze said, “And for the info. Sonic, we should go.”

Sonic followed Blaze outside, leaving Duke Nigel to his thoughts. “The power to reverse the flow of time… If that power fell into the wrong hands, it would be disastrous.”

* * *

When Silver arrived in the Sol Dimension, Silver found himself on the outskirts of a large city, stretching as far as the eye could see with a palace located in the centre. He observed from atop a large hill. The architecture was like nothing he’d seen in either his own time nor Sonic’s, and in the distance, he could see the vast, blue ocean.

“Is this the Sol Dimension? If it is, that castle must be where Blaze lives. That would be my best bet to look for the Jewelled Sceptre.”

Silver descended down the hilltop and entered the city, but as he walked through its streets, it quickly became apparent that the city was empty. There were no people on the streets, homes were left abandoned with their doors open, or blown off entirely, and deactivated robots littered the ground.

“Nega must have already started his attack! I have to get moving!” Running towards the palace, Silver noticed shadows passing over him and looked up. Three robots swooped down and blocked his path, aiming their guns at the hedgehog. “Outta my way! I’m in a hurry!”

The robots fired, and Silver used his Psychokinesis to catch the bullets and then fire them back. The robots were knocked back and fell to the ground, and Silver kept moving. As he rounded a corner, he found his path blocked by debris from what appeared to be a fallen statue.

Using his powers, Silver lifted the rubble to create a way through and hurried. “I’m almost there!”

“GET AWAY FROM ME, YA BUCKET OF BOLTS!”

Silver stopped and looked around, searching for the source of the voice. He looked down an alleyway and found a young girl racoon being cornered by two of the robots. “Awright then, you asked for it!”

“Get down!” Running into the alley, Silver used his psychic knives to cut down the two robots as they aimed their guns at the girl. “Are you okay?”

The girl turned to Silver. She seemed shocked, but also had stars in her eyes. “What was _that_?!”

“You mean… my powers?” Silver used his Psychokinesis to lift up a small crate nearby. “It’s ESP. The power to move things with your mind.”

The girl stared at the floating box in awe. “That’s so cool!” Silver smiled. She seemed to be okay, and _very_ energetic. “And you can use it to cut down enemies, too! You’d be real ripper to have on my crew!”

“‘Crew’?”

The girl nodded, and then stood tall-and-proud with her hands on her hips as she introduced herself. “That’s right! I’m Captain Marine, the bravest and most-fearless adventure on the seas! So far, my crew only has three other members, but they’re all lollygagging somewhere else so I’m on me own.”

“On the seas… So you have your own boat?”

“Strewth! A right beaut she is! Wanna see her?”

“Maybe later. For now, you should find somewhere to hide. It isn’t safe out here.”

Marine huffed. “You think I can’t handle myself?! I was just aboutta show those scrap-brains what-for before _you_ showed up!”

“You were? How?”

Marine now grinned. “Well, I have powers of my own, y’know? Watch!” Marine pulled up her hand and clenched her fist, closing her eyes as she concentrated. Silver watched as nothing seemed to happen, and Marine furrowed her brow as she really focussed. Then, a bright, white light enveloped her hands, surprising him. “Ah! See? I can shoot down bad guys like this!” She fired the energy at the crate Silver lifted earlier, shattering it with the impact.

“That’s…”

“Cool, right? I discovered it on one of my biggest adventures ever! Saved me crew, I did!”

“That was ESP!” Silver said excitedly. “What you just did, I’m _sure_ it was some form of Psychokinesis. Not _quite_ the same as mine, but similar.”

“It was? But I can’t lift things or cut stuff up like you can.”

“Well, you only learned how to do it recently, right? You probably just need to figure out how to use the power correctly. Man, I wasn’t expecting to find another psychic here! I thought Blaze was the only one not from my time.”

“Hold on, did you just say ‘Blaze’?”

“That’s right. Do you know her?”

“‘Course I know her! She’s me first-mate!”

“You and Blaze are friends? Do you know where she is right now?”

Marine shook her head. “I came here ‘cause I heard the town was bein’ attacked by robots, but I can’t even get to the palace right now ‘cause they’re everywhere!” Marine’s face suddenly lit up. “Hey, I know! We should go together, an’ you can show me how to use my powers!”

“I don’t really have time for that right now. Eggman Nega’s on his way to take the Jewelled Sceptre, and I need to get to it before _he_ does!”

Marine grinned. “If that’s all you need, then I can show you where it is! I was with Blaze when she moved it, after it was stolen last time.”

“You mean it’s not in the palace?”

“That’s be the first place someone’d look, ya clod! She hid it somewhere else, and only the people in me crew know where it is!”

Silver thought on it for a few moments. “Alright, I guess you’ll have to lead the way. I’ll try to give you some pointers along the way. Oh, and my name’s Silver. Guess I hadn’t introduced myself yet.” Silver extended his hand, but Marine didn’t seem to notice as she was too busy jumping for joy.

“Bonzer! This’ll be so aces! We’ll be like a master and student! I’ll call you ‘Master Silver’, ‘kay?”

“Just Silver’s fine. By the way, you mentioned you crew before. Should we ask _them_ for help, too?”

Marine shook her head. “Nah mate, the other two aren’t here either. Sonic and Tails live in another world.”

Silver was taken aback. “S-Sonic and Tails?!”

“What, you know _them_ , too?”

“I’m from the same world as them!”

“Strewth?! Wow, what’re the odds? This must be destiny!”

The sounds of jets alerted the two to more robots approaching them from either side of the alley, cutting off their only exits. Silver picked up some nearby garbage cans with his Psychokinesis and Marine gathered energy into her fist.

“Okay, ready for your first crash course?”

“Ready when you are, Master!”

Silver sighed. ‘ _I guess that’s gonna stick, huh?_ ’ The robots approached and he fired his projectiles as Marine unleashed her attack.

* * *

As the convoy moved, Sonic and Shadow raced alongside the cars, Sonic on-foot and Shadow riding his Dark Rider, Omega attached to the side. Tails and Amy followed aboard the Cyclone, and Rouge was stood atop the car at the back, with Blaze standing on the car at the front.

“Everything okay in there, Princess?” Sonic asked through his earpiece.

_“Yes. I have to admit, even though I’m nervous, this is kind of exciting.”_

Sonic laughed. “That’s it, just try to stay positive!” In the distance, everybody noticed the Egg Carrier approaching. “Look sharp, everyone!”

Tails raced on ahead, firing on the robots emerging from the airship to keep them from reaching the convoy. “These ones look different,” Tails said, nothing that these robots were a lot more humanoid and donned a simple black-and-white colour scheme, compared to the Badniks they had fought earlier.

Some manage to slip through, which was where the rest of the escort came into play. Blaze unleashed flames at the robots attempting to reach her car, and Rouge offered support with the pistol Topaz had given her. “These are the ones that attacked my home!” Blaze shouted.

“Designation: Egg Gunner,” Omega reported as he unleashed hellfire on the robots, being careful not to hit his allies. Shadow kept his motorcycle steady as Omega continued to attack. “Detecting incoming Spy Drones,” Omega said, his sensors alerting him to much smaller robots flew down with the Egg Gunners. They were nothing more than cameras attached to propellers, not even equipped with any weaponry.

Sonic leapt up to take a few out, but the Egg Gunners fiercely defended the rest, forcing him to focus on the aggressive robots, first.

Rouge watched as one drone scanned the front car. “They’re looking for Elise!”

Another drone scanned the second, but was interrupted when Blaze shot it down with her flames. Two more took its place, and before she could stop them, more Egg Gunners were on her. “I can’t take them down fast enough!”

The two finished with that car, and they moved to the third. Sonic took down three Egg Gunners and then tried to make it to the drones in-time, but they were finished before he could reach them, and they then began to retreat. “Uh-oh! He knows where she is!”

Tails gasped as he saw the Egg Carrier launching several missiles. “He’s firing on the convoy! Move out of the way!”

The cars suddenly swerved, forcing Blaze and Rouge to take flight as they drove off-road. The missiles rained down around the cars, and the resulting explosions toppled the first and second cars and led the fourth car to come to a sudden halt. The third car kept going, the missiles having avoided it completely, and it attempts to get back on the road.

“Incoming!” Tails shouted, and the car was suddenly cut-off by three Heavy-Egg Hammers, which dropped down before the vehicle and stopped it in its tracks. Tails attempted to turn around to help, but he noticed the Egg Hawk flying his way and firing on the Cyclone, forcing him to take evasive action.

“Urgh! This bird’s getting on my nerves!” Amy shouted. “Tails, get us close and I’ll knock it out of the sky!”

Tails fired on the Egg Hawk, disabling its guns as he got close to the left wing. As he flew under it, Amy swung her hammer at smashed one of the engines, causing the craft to shake violently. As they came around, they did the same thing with the right wings.

Sonic and Shadow raced to the car. Omega fired at the robots stopping it, and Sonic and Shadow both jumped forwards to perform Tornado Spins, stripping away at their armour platings. “Take this!” Sonic shouted as he knocked one of the robots onto its back.

“Move aside!” Shadow landed on one of the robots and delivered a punch to its uncovered head, smashing it in one blow.

Whilst the two hedgehogs and Omega were preoccupied with the Heavy-Egg Hammers, and Blaze and Rouge were helping out the cars that had been driven off of the road, Eggman moved-in towards the car holding the Princess, piloting a remodelled version of his Egg Emperor robot, known as the Egg Emperor X. He landed beside the car and grabbed it with the robot’s large hand, ripping the door away as though it were nothing.

Sonic took notice, but as he tried to race back to confront Eggman, he was cut off by more Egg Gunners. “I don’t have time for _you_!”

“Sonic! Shadow! Help me!”

Eggman laughed as he pulled the Princess out of the jeep, holding her in the Egg Emperor’s hand. The GUN soldiers inside fired on the mechanical monstrosity. “Hah! You think you can take me down with _those_ little things?! Please!” The Egg Emperor’s other hand reached back, and then was swung at the jeep, sending it flying several yards away with the soldiers still inside.

The Egg Emperor took to the sky, holding up its shield as it flew towards the Egg Carrier, to deflect the Cyclones’ attacks. “Better luck next time, Sonic!”

Sonic finished taking down the Egg Gunners in his way, only for more to show up. “There’s no end to them!”

Shadow jumped out in front of Sonic, shooting the robots down. “Sonic, go after them! We’ll hold them off here!”

“Alright! Leave it to me!” Sonic raced on ahead, across the plains of Soleanna and towards the Egg Carrier as it began to move away, heading towards Soleanna’s beach.

* * *

The people of Soleanna watched in a mixture of awe and fear as the large airship passed over them, heading towards the Wave Ocean beach. Trailing behind it on the ground was Sonic the Hedgehog, startling the onlookers as he passed by in a blur, creating a trail of turbulence as he went.

Racing onto the beach, Sonic ran along the hot sands, weaving between the fleeing beach-goers running back towards the city. Egg Gunners dropped down onto the beach, aiming their guns at Sonic, who weaved side-to-side to dodge the attacks and then took them out with a series of homing attacks.

Seeing the Egg Carrier getting away, Sonic decided to take a shortcut through a nearby cave. As he emerged on the other side, he was greeted to an ambush of Egg Hammers and Egg Pawns. “Uh-oh!” Sonic swiftly stepped to the side, avoiding the heavy hammer of one of the giants. He ran around the robots, kicking up sand as he left them behind so that they could not accurately fire at him. “I’ll come back for you guys later! I gotta keep up with your boss, first!”

Sonic saw a large cliff blocking his path ahead, the only way around taking him out to the ocean. As luck would have it, a large orca was basking in the sun. Sonic picked-up speed and jumped, landing on the whale’s back. It noticed the sudden intrusion and began to submerge, but he was able to run across the large creature’s back and jump over to a nearby fishing platform built over the water.

On the platform, several onlookers watched the Egg Carrier as it flew off in the distance. Sonic ran around the platform several times, building up speed and creating a strong wind. When he felt he was fast enough, Sonic sprang out over the water and ran along its surface, making it back to the beach and continuing his pursuit of the Egg Carrier.

More Egg Gunner arrived to try to stop him, forcing Sonic to take a detour and head towards a nearby lighthouse. As the robots shot at him, Sonic ran along the side of the lighthouse, reaching the top and then jumping over to the top of a nearby cliff. From there, he ran along the higher ground, attempting to make up the distance that the Egg Carrier had managed to gain.

“Darn, not gonna make it! Better speed up!” Sonic boosted forwards, creating a sonic boom and leaving behind a blue trail as he raced towards the Egg Carrier. He reached the end of the cliff and jumped back down to the beach.

As he accelerated along the ground, three small, chrome-coloured robots appeared and hovered in front of him, keeping up despite his speed. They were Eggman’s Aero-Chasers, a type of robot the Doctor designed specifically to deal with Sonic’s ‘boost’ ability.

The three robots fired lasers, forcing Sonic to weave between them, and the two on either side dropped small generators that created an electronic tripwire along the ground. As Sonic jumped over that, the middle robot dropped a landmine, and he was heading right for it!

Sonic reigned-in his speed just enough to avoid colliding with the mine, and side-stepped it before building his speed back up. “That was close!” The robots began dropping molotovs onto the ground, creating walls of fire that Sonic had to manoeuvre around. “Nice moves, but let’s see how you handle _this_!”

Sonic jumped, using homing attack to reach the middle robot as it was charging its laser. He kicked it down to the ground and then landed back on the beach, and as the remaining robots watched, they were unaware of the large cliff that was approaching them. Sonic jumped and tucked himself into a ball, allowing himself to fit through a narrow hole, but the two Aero-Chasers simply crashed and exploded against the rocky wall.

Unfurling himself, Sonic ran through the dark cave, avoiding the stalagmites inside, and then emerged on the other side. The Egg Carrier was closer now. If Sonic could just get up high enough, he could reach it! Ahead of him, rock formations formed loop-de-loops over the ocean, and at the end, the path curved up. Sonic followed along these formations, and jumped as he reached the end, gaining some height and almost reaching the Egg Carrier.

“Try again, Sonic!” Eggman taunted over a loudspeaker. Several turrets fired at Sonic, who used the incoming missiles as platforms to avoid being hit and to get closer to the airship. As he reached the last one, Sonic looked down. There was another cliff below him with many trees on it.

Sonic leapt off the final missile just before it exploded, and then skydived down towards the cliff, reaching out and grabbing onto one of the tree’s branches. He swung around the branch several times, his speed gradually falling, and then he dropped down onto the cliff, watching as the Egg Carrier flew further over the ocean, now complete out of reach.

“AHAHAHAHAHAH! BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME, SONIC!”

“Darn, he got away,” Sonic said with a smirk.

_“Sonic, we’ve defeated all of Eggman’s robots and are on our way to GUN HQ,”_ Tails reported through Sonic’s earpiece. _“Come meet up with us.”_

“Roger that,” Sonic said, turning around and leaving to return to the group.

* * *

Commander Tower turned and faced the group as they entered the Command Centre. “Welcome back, Agent Rouge. I trust the operation was a success?”

“It sure was,” Rouge said. Behind her, Elise – dressed in the standard-issue GUN uniform – removed her helmet, sighing as she felt a cool breeze against her head.

Tower saluted. “Princess Elise, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. You are unharmed?”

“I am,” Elise said, her eyes drifting downwards as she frowned, “But your soldier that took my place…”

“Agent Topaz is a dependable soldier,” Tower said. “She will be able to take care of herself.”

“She knew what she was getting into when she agreed to this plan,” Rouge added with a shrug. “And this way, we now have somebody on the inside, who can find out what Eggman’s planning.”

* * *

Eggman threw ‘Elise’ into her cell, grinning as he closed the door and locked it. “We’ll have no repeats of your earlier shenanigans, Princess! This cell will be under constant watch, and you’ll remain in handcuffs until it’s time to serve your purpose! Oh, and for your earlier defiance, I’ve downgraded your accommodations. Maybe that will convince you not to try anything _stupid_ again.”

Topaz didn’t say anything. She simply watched as Eggman walked away, his laughter echoing in the room. A single robot was left guarding the cell, an E-Series unit designated ‘Chaos Gamma’, and a security camera was positioned in such a way that there were no blind spots.

Looking around the cell itself, Topaz gagged. The room was filthy, the bed was thin and covered with dust, there was mould growing along the floor, and there were rats scurrying about. A downgrade indeed, from how Elise had described the cell she had been thrown into on the Egg Carrier.

There was a single chair in the middle of the room. ‘ _Before I make any moves, I need to know the routines of the guards,_ ’ she thought, and took a seat as she waited, and watched. As she sat there, she couldn’t help but notice how could it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those wondering about the Duke of Soleanna's name - it is taken from the Post-SGW Archie timeline, where King Max's name was changed to Nigel Acorn. Since the Duke was never named in '06 (to my knowledge), and since in my stories I use the Pre-SGW name for King Max, I decided to repurpose the name Nigel here.


End file.
